Semiconductor devices, such as memory chips and microprocessor chips, typically include a semiconductor device bonded to a substrate with a bonding material. During the conventional bonding process, a chip mounting apparatus picks up a semiconductor device by drawing a vacuum through the bondhead, and transfers the semiconductor device to a bonding area where the semiconductor device is bonded to a substrate. As shown in FIG. 1, a semiconductor device 16 is brought into contact with a bondhead 10 by a vacuum 11 and is attached to a substrate 20 with a bonding material 18 onto the device 16. A vacuum line 13 attached to a channel 12 of the bondhead 10 draws the vacuum 11 that is maintained until the device 16 is securely placed into a bonding position. The bonding process described herein is typically performed at high temperatures to ensure the bonding material 18 has an appropriate viscosity, interconnects are formed, and some of the bonding material 18 tends to vaporize at the higher temperatures.
A drawback of the conventional bonding process described above is the potential for vaporized bonding material 18 to enter and condense in the vacuum line 13. More specifically, gaps often exist between the bondhead 10 and the device 16 because topography of each semiconductor device 16 has small imperfections and warpage. As a result, there is rarely a perfect seal between the bondhead 10 and the semiconductor device 16 such that some of the vaporized bonding material 18 is drawn through the gaps and enters the vacuum line 13. The vaporized bonding material 18 cools as it travels through the vacuum line 13 and condenses onto the vacuum lines 13 and/or hardware that is drawing the vacuum 11 itself. The condensed bonding material 18 can clog the vacuum lines 13 and decrease the strength of the vacuum 11, thereby causing the vacuum 11 and vacuum lines 13 to be less reliable in picking up and transferring semiconductor devices. Eventually, the vacuum lines and/or hardware may need to be replaced or cleaned, resulting in unnecessary expenses and manufacturing downtime.